By India McCarty
A new app, Zigazoo, promises parents a safe, educational and kid-friendly social media experience for their children.
“Our mission is to give youth a safe and positive community where they can find joy, develop healthy online relationships, and aspire to their greatest potential as tomorrow’s digital citizens,” Zigazoo’s website reads.
The website continues, “Our world-class team recognizes the power of social media in today’s world and the absence of environments built with children’s well-being in mind. Using our expertise in child development and education Zigazoo is designed to highlight the opportunity for confidence and relationship building, digital literacy, self expression and FUN while safe-guarding against harmful side effects that adult social media presents for youth.”
Designed for children ages 4 to 15, Zigazoo is moderated, with all content screened for appropriateness,and all user ages verified. Users cannot send or receive messages. The app is also ad-free.
“Kids need that digital literacy. That’s not a bad thing,” Zigazoo co-founder and CEO Zak Ringelstein told WJAR Providence. “Kids are going to be online during the summer. However, what we want to do is have an open dialogue with them, we want to keep their screen time to a minimum, and when they are on screen time, let’s try and find ways that it can be productive screen time and educational screen time.”
Zigazoo already boasts almost 12 million users — including tennis star Serena Williams’ 7-year-old daughter, Olympia.
“As a parent, I of course worry about my kids one day getting on social media,” Williams said in a video posted to X in February. “As an investor, I am always looking for technology that helps navigate that. Zigazoo was designed literally with kids’ well-being and safety at its core. And the best part is my comfort when my kid uses it. She can make videos, she can make trending sounds and interact with friends in a safe and moderated environment.”
Hot take. I let my daughter on social media. Well, on Zigazoo. pic.twitter.com/bx7PciLr5K
Related: Social Media is ‘Hurting’ Our Kids — We Need to ‘Step In’
— Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) February 4, 2025
She continued, “I feel like Zigazoo is solving one of the world’s biggest problems by actually giving kids safe training wheels so to say for the digital lives and really protecting the most precious among us.”
Social media is proven to have negative impacts on children’s physical and mental health, but experts and parents are still navigating the best ways to allow their kids to interact with the technology. Zigazoo’s commitment to giving kids a social media experience that also keeps them safe is a step in the right direction.
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